Clause 6 - Deer
Hunting Bill
3:00 pm
Mr Tony Banks (West Ham, Labour)
I most certainly will not leave the Committee after I have spoken, unless my endurance is pushed to breaking point by Opposition Members.
The hon. Member for Taunton takes us into a hypothetical situation. We need to be more imaginative. We are told how many visitors go to Exmoor, where the great attractions are the deer herds and the beautiful countryside. One hopes that people continue to go there. A rural economy does not depend simply on hunting. The skills of those in the countryside should be—[Interruption.] The hon.
Gentleman seems to think that there is something wrong with that. He is privileged to be able to live in the countryside. Perhaps he would like to come and see my constituents in Forest Gate.
I love going to the countryside, because it gives me great pleasure. It is an amenity that we can all enjoy. Therefore, I admire those who understand the ways of animals and have perhaps acquired the skill of stalking them. Regrettably, that may make them better able to kill those animals, but the skill has been gained—it is there.
Whatever the creatures involved, I would think it a great pity if people were to say, ''If we are not allowed to go out and hunt, we will not have anything to do with the countryside.'' I do not believe that that would be their attitude. If it were, they would be depriving themselves and us of something that belongs to us all, which we all have a right to enjoy and a duty to respect. Those are the things that I believe in. If the hon. Member for Taunton accepts that there will be changes and if he turns his formidable intellect to the more creative use of those whose jobs might go, the better it will be for us all, including those he represents.
I would have liked to add to the species in clause 6. I hope that an opportunity will arise elsewhere to do so, but I support clause stand part.